The Black Knights
by TwinBladeSwordsman
Summary: Kayaba Akihiko does not play alongside his captives in the death game of Sword Art Online. Without him, the Knights of the Blood Oath are never formed. Instead, a new guild takes charge and leads the assault on the frontlines, a myterious group known as The Black Knights. KiritoxAsuna, no harem. Progress updates on my profile.
1. Author's Note and Original Story

**A/N: Hello my wonderful readers! Some of you may have noticed that this story disappeared for a while :( Unfortunately, one of my friends decided to mess with my stuff while he was over and deleted my story on here. Luckily, I still have the word document that contains all 9 chapters. I'm going to take this chance to restart the story and fix some of the things I didn't like. I'm going to try to make the chapters longer and more detailed, as well as fix some mistakes I made the first time around. The original version will be posted below this Author's Note if you want to see how the story originally started. Thanks for understanding!**

**-TwinBladeSwordsman**

**Chapter 1 – FullDive**

_"Sword Art Online. The brand new Virtual Reality Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game, or VRMMORPG, sold out in mere seconds of it being available. 10,000 lucky gamers will log in for the first time in just a few short minutes…" _The news report continued on, but Kirigaya Kazuto, or Kirito as he was known online, wasn't listening. He was busy putting on his NerveGear system. "It's time." He declared to no one in particular. He connected the Ethernet cable to the NerveGear and turned the system on. "Here we go."

"Link Start!"

The world around him faded and he was pulled into the Virtual Reality he so desperately awaited. He was presented with a Sign Up screen, but he wasn't interested in that. He quickly pressed the "Recover Beta Avatar" button at the bottom of the menu and logged in.

[Username: Kirito]

[Password: ******]

[Logging in…]

"Welcome back, Kirito! You Avatar has been recovered; however your stats, items, and skills have all been reset. We hope you enjoy your time in _Sword Art Online!_"

He couldn't fight the smile that tugged on his lips. He materialized inside of _Starting City_ and nearly exploded with excitement. He quickly looked around and took in his surroundings. Even though it had been months since the Closed Beta ended, he remembered the environment like he had just visited yesterday. He took off sprinting down the main streets of _Starting City. _

"First things first, I need to gain some levels," he thought to himself as he sprinted through the town, not bothering to look at the other player and NPCs gaping at him "and I know exactly where to go." He reached the outskirts of _Starting City_ where _Wild Boars_were known, well, known by the beta players at least, to spawn. Sure enough, the mob could be found in decent numbers, just outside of the City limits. The area was void of other players, as he expected. Most of them were probably still inside the city getting used to the game. He made a downward swiping motion with his hand and brought up the menu. He equipped his _Beginners Gear_ and _Starting Sword_. The equipment was weak, but all he could afford at the moment and it would work fine against the level 2 _Wild Boars_.

For new players, the boars would be nearly impossible to Solo. In fact, it would be nearly impossible for the players to kill anything alone until they learned about **Sword Skills**. These were special abilities that allowed players to deal massive damage to enemies. To trigger it, all the player needed to do was start the motion, pause, and wait for their weapon to glow. Once the attack was charged, the player could unleash it, allowing the system to take over their movements and perform critical strikes to enemies. However, most players didn't learn about this until their second or third day into the game. This knowledge was just one of the advantages of being a beta tester.

Within half an hour, Kirito had reached Level 2 and had accumulated a fair amount of drops from the boars. "That should be enough for a while. I need to…huh?" He quickly turned around and saw a figure watching him from a distance. "Who are you?" he asked.

"Hey uh, I'm new and I got sort of lost. That was awesome by the way! You totally slaughtered those things!" the red-bandana wearing man praised.

"Uh thanks…I guess," Kirito responded, unsure of how to answer "It's not really that hard. I can show you the basics if you'd like." Why not? Kirito thought, I'm already a level ahead of everyone else, even the other beta players. It can't hurt to show a new player the ropes.

"Yeah! That'd be great! Thanks a lot man!" The man was nearly bouncing with excitement. "My name is Klein by the way!"

"Kirito."

"Nice to meet you!"

"Let's get started. First open your menu and equip the armor and weapons you were given when you spawned."

"Uhh… how do I do that?"

Oh great. This might take longer than expected. "Put your hand in the air and swipe down like this," he said as he opened his menu, trying to hide his annoyance. "See?"

"Oh yeah! Got it. Ok uh..Inventory…Armor…._Beginners Gear_…equip. Weapons…_Starting Sword_….equip. Ok, good to go!" He said as his items materialized around him.

"Right. Now, you can attack on your own with **Normal Strikes**. These work, but aren't as effective as **Sword Skills**. Using **Sword Skills** will perform stronger attacks that will help you defeat enemies quicker. Unfortunately, since you only start the motion and the system does the rest, you can't stop once you activate a **Sword Skill**. Plus, there is a "cooldown" time after each one, during which you can't move at all to defend yourself, so use your **Skills** carefully."

"Wow! This game is amazing! So how do I do those awesome moves? Oh man, this is going to be so badass!" The man seemed like he was about to explode. Kirito wasn't used to eccentric people like this guy, and it was starting to bug him.

"Uh, like I said, all you have to do is start the motion and the system will do the rest. So try a **Slant**. Just raise your weapons like this, wait for it to glow and charge fully, and move it slightly and watch the game do the rest for you." Kirito demonstrated the move as he spoke. Klein watched him intently, trying to fully absorb all the information. "Why don't you give it a shot?"

"Ok, so I raise my weapons and it'll…whoa! It's glowing! Sweet!" The aura began to form around Klein's sword, "let it charge and…GO!" The system took over for Klein and performed a **Slant** attack. "It worked! That was…wha? Where'd he go?" Klein turned around to see Kirito had disappeared. "Oh well. This game is freaking amazing!"He opened his menu and unequipped his items. He checked the time quickly. "Oh! It's almost 5:30, time to get my Pizza! I'm starving. Um, where's the log out button?" He scrolled through the menus, but found nothing. "It should be under Player Options right? Weird. And just my luck. No pizza for me." Klein didn't have time to be disappointed as a loud buzzing accompanied by a flashing red light in the sky caught his attention

**System Message. Commencing Teleportation.**

"Wha..? Whoa!" He exclaimed as a blue light engulfed him and he found himself back in the center of _Starting City_.

**A/N: Thanks for reading the first chapter of my first ever FanFiction! I love SAO and I'm going to try to not butcher it. Like I said, this is my first FanFiction, so it might not be great. I would appreciate any advice, feedback, or suggestions. Leave a review or PM me! Obviously this is a bit different than Canon, with Kirito meeting Klein after he went fighting and leaving before they were both teleported, showing his disinterest with being in a group situation. We'll see how long he keeps that attitude. **

**If you notice any mistakes, either grammatical/spelling or consistency, please let me know. I want to make this story the best I possibly can. Thanks! **

**Chapter 2 – The Game Begins**

Kirito was surprised, and very annoyed, at the recent events. He had been on his way to the local general store to sell the drops he received from the _Boars_when he had been rudely interrupted by the random teleportation. Everyone around him looked equally as confused. It appeared that all 10,000 players were here. This had better be good.

A large figure soon appeared in the sky. The face was hidden by a red hood that matched the rest of the figures outfit. Everyone looked up in awe at the enormous being.

"Greetings players! And welcome to MY world!" "_His world?_"Thought Kirito. Then this must be… "My name is Kayaba Akihiko, creator of Sword Art Online. Some, or all, of you may be wondering why you're here. You might also be wondering why the Log Out button seems to be missing from the game. Rest assured, this is not a bug or error on our part. This was fully intentional. If you wish to log out of this game, you must beat it. You must ascend through all 100 floors of Aincrad and defeat the final boss. Until the boss is defeated, you will be incapable of removing yourself from the game."

The shock was evident on the faces of all 10,000 players. They were trapped? Surely that's not possible. This was just some sort of sick joke right? They would add the ability to log out within a few hours. They had to.

"Should your family or friends attempt to forcefully remove the NerveGear from your body, it will emit a strong pulse of microwaves, effectively frying your brain, terminating you from this world, and the real world. A message was sent out to News stations around the world with the exact same warning. As you can see…" He paused as he opened a statistics menu that read **Players:** **9,812** "188 people ignored the warning, and killed their friend or relative. Before my time here is up, please check your inventory and you will find a gift from me called the Hand Mirror." Everyone used the free item, and was shocked to realize that their avatar was destroyed, and they were now looking at their real face. They weren't playing as an avatar anymore, they were playing as themselves. "That is all for now. Welcome to Sword Art Online. This concludes the official tutorial." And with that, he vanished.

The 10,000, or now 9,182, players stood completely still. Frozen. Unable to move or speak. Then one piercing scream was heard, followed by more screams of terror, fear, anger, and denial. The players were outraged, and rightfully so. Many of them refused to accept it, and continued to scream that it was just a sick joke. Kirito on the other hand, knew that this game was real. He had done extensive research on Kayaba, who was once his hero, and knew about the amount of time and research he put in to this game. He wouldn't compromise his game by playing a joke like this. This game just became real. This game was now a Death Game.

Deciding that standing around arguing or worrying about this recent revelation would be a waste, Kirito continued on his way to the General Store. He was almost out of the crowd when he heard a familiar voice.

"Kirito-kun! Kirito-kun! Wait up!" He turned around to see Klein running towards him. Oh great.

"Kirito-kun! Is this real? Was Kayaba serious? He can't…I mean it's not….we won't really die right?" The fear in his voice was obvious.

"Everything Kayaba said was true. He's spent years on this game; he wouldn't joke about something like this. You die here, and that's it. The end of your life, both of them." Kirito replied coldly.

"Oh my god. I can't…I don't….what do we do? Do you want to party up? There's strength in numbers right? I've got some friends that I've played with before. We can form a party and take this on together right?" Klein nearly begged. Kirito did feel bad for him, but he couldn't allow himself to be slowed down, especially now that this was a reality. Taking Klein and his friends would cost him time, experience, money, and possibly his life. He couldn't take that risk .

"I'm sorry Klein, but I can't do that. I'm a solo player and I don't do well in groups. I would only slow you down. Spread the word though. Tell everyone to find Argo the Rat. She will sell a _Beginners Guidebook_ to anyone for 5 col. This contains all of the information the Beta Testers found during the Beta, as well as guides on leveling, col farming, survival, and enemy or boss fights. Tell everyone. That information will save lives. Good luck, Klein-san." And with that Kirito turned and walked away, leaving Klein speechless, hopeless, and frustrated.

"It was for his own benefit. I wouldn't be able to help him or his friends. I might be a good fighter, but that's only when I'm solo or the fight has been planned, like in boss fights. We would all die if I joined their group" Kirito thought to himself. He knew his decision was for the best. For now, he needed to collect his money and find a place to sleep for the night.

He walked out of the general store with just under 1000 col, not bad for an hour of work. He lazily strolled his way to the local in, ordered a room, and crashed onto his bed. Today had been exhausting. The most anticipated video game to ever be released turned into a giant death trap. Nearly 200 people had already died and those who were still here were in a panic. One thing was for certain, almost 10,000 people were trapped here, and they weren't leaving anytime soon.

**A/N: And the game has officially begun. Again, I didn't stray too much from Canon here, and I probably won't until after the first floor. Once we get into it, the absence of Heathcliff and the Knights of the Blood Oath will make a noticeable difference. Thanks for reading! Be sure to leave a review and point out any errors I may have made. Humans make mistakes :) **

**Chapter 3 – The Beaters**

When Kirito awoke the next morning, the sun was already shining through the shades on his windows. He tiredly pulled open his menu and checked the time. **Aincrad Standard Time: 8:00 AM** the menu read. "Good, I wanted to get an early start anyway." He quickly checked his inventory, reviewing his items and his col. _Beginners Gear_,_ Starting Sword_, and 883 col. Not much, but it was probably more than what most players had. He left his room, thanked the Clerk NPC for the room, and wandered outside. Many players were still sleeping, but a few hundred had already awoken, or had never been to bed, and were journeying through the streets of _Starting City_. While most of the players were sleeping, he figured it would be a good time to get a head start on some more training. The Durability levels of his equipment was still fairly high, so he figured he could get 3 or 4 hours worth of training in before he had to get it repaired.

As he reached the location of the _Wild Boars_ he fought yesterday, he was surprised to see Klein already hard at work. He had just sent another _Boar_ shattering into polygons when he noticed Kirito.

"Kirito-kun! Nice to see you again!" He greeted cheerfully.

"Likewise. Already training hard huh?" Kirito replied.

"Yeah! I've only been out here for 15 minutes though. Would you like to join me? We don't have to party up or anything, wouldn't want to split the EXP right?" Klein chuckled.

"Sure. Why not?" Kirito didn't see a reason to say no. They weren't in a party so they were both getting the maximum amount of XP per kill and they each got their own drops. It'd be nice to have a familiar face around. It made the situation they were placed in less intimidating.

An hour into their training, Kirito had reached Level 3 and accumulated another 600 col worth of drops. Klein, who was much slower at killing the _Boars_, was still Level 1, but was nearing Level 2. "Man Kirito, you sure are good at this! I knew you were a Beta Tester, but it almost feels like you're cheating!" Klein stated lightheartedly.

"Maybe I am. Maybe I'm a beta tester and a cheater. I guess that makes me a beater!" Kirito retorted with a smile.

"I guess so. You're just a dirty little beater!" The mindless banter helped the training go by faster and easier. For a while, they almost forgot that they were actually fighting for their lives. Almost. Klein was fighting hard against two _Boars_ at once. Their attack pattern was pretty passive, and wouldn't attack unless attacked first. However, two more _Boars_ focused their attention on Klein. In the heat of his current battle, he didn't notice the other _Boars _charging right at him. He was directly hit by both of them and knocked to the ground. His HP bar dropped quickly into the red and began flashing. The four _Boars_ were preparing to launch another assault, an assault that would prove fatal to Klein. "KIRITO!" Klein called out in sheer terror.

Having just defeated two _Boars_, Kirito was a bit slow to react, but when he saw the danger his new friend, well…acquaintance, was in, he leaped into action. He threw himself in front of Klein, blocking the charging _Boars_ with his sword. "Drink this!" he commanded as he tossed a Health Potion to Klein. Klein did as he told and watched his HP recover. Still a bit dazed, Klein teetered as he stood up, but eventually recovered and took up a defensive position next to Kirito. "You watch my back and I'll take care of these guys." Kirito told Klein cooly. Klein gave him a nod and Kirito charged into the fight. He opened with a basic **Slant** that quickly eliminated one _Boar_. His cooldown time was quick, so he soon followed up with an **Uppercut** that knocked another _Boar_ into the air. The third _Boar_ rushed at him from behind, but Klein quickly jumped in and blocked it with his blade and fluidly moved into a **Spinning Strike**. The _Boar_, which had been weakened by Klein earlier, quickly shattered into polygons. "Thanks!" Kirito called out. He then sprinted towards the last _Boar._ He hit it quickly with a **Horizontal Slash** and sent it flying to the ground. He gave it a quick stab of his sword, not bothering to use a **Skill** and watched it burst into polygons. "Well, that was exciting." He said with a smug grin. But his smile faded when he remembered that the _Boars_ didn't act like that in the Beta. So certain aspects were different after all.

They continued their training for another few hours. Kirito's weapon and armor were almost completely drained of their durability and Klein was exhausted. They had both earned a large amount of EXP, with Kirito reaching Level 4 and Klein reaching Level 3. Not to mention the amount of col they had made in drops. They parted ways after they reached town. Klein wanted to catch up with his friends and Kirito was going to sell his drops and get his equipment fixed. After a quick visit to the store and the blacksmith, Kirito decided to plan his next move. He returned to the room he had rented and opened his minimap. If the full release was like the beta, the quest "Secret Medicine of the Forest" would reward him with an Anneal Blade. The quest was fairly difficult, requiring the player to defeat Level 3 _Little Nepents_ until they got a rare drop known as the _Little Nepent's Ovule_. It was time consuming and dangerous, but worth it in the end. It was still early, so Kirito decided to leave soon, and reach the location of the Quest's Start Point in Horunka Village. It was a fairly short walk, only lasting a few hours, so getting there before nightfall should be no problem. The real issue was the _Wolves_ that inhabited the surrounding forest. It was dangerous for an average player to attempt the walk solo, but Kirito was no average player.

As he left the inn, he felt slightly awkward. He looked around and noticed people looking, no glaring, at him. He heard quiet whispers of "There he is…" "Yeah, that's the beater we heard about…" "Man, what a jerk…" A beater? Is that what they called him? Fantastic. He was now infamous for being a Beta Tester and a cheater, even though it was just a joke between Klein and himself. He tried to ignore their piercing glare, but he continued to hear the whispers. "He's probably way ahead of us, taking all of the good spots and mobs." "He's leaving us all behind to die while he gets stronger." "I bet he didn't even help out with the guidebook. Thankfully that Klein guy told us about it, or we'd all be screwed!" "I wonder where the other Beaters are. They're all scum. Leaving us to die like this." So Klein did spread the word of the guidebook. Good. Now most players at least stood a chance, but Kirito couldn't help but feel uneasy as the venomous words the others were spitting at him. He had already done all he could, so why were they so angry? He reached the city gates and moved onwards toward the forest. He would have time to clear his head on the journey to Horunka Village, assuming he didn't get killed on the way there.

**A/N: So there you have it. Kirito is officially a "Beater". I changed the story behind the terms origins a bit, but oh well. Next chapter will be the journey to Horunka Village and the start of Kirito's quest for the rare Anneal Blade. Chapters 1-3 were all written on the same day, so sorry if I don't answer your questions by the time you read the next chapter. I'll read reviews/PMs as soon as I can. Thanks for reading! Be sure to leave a review or PM me with any questions!**

**Chapter 4 – The Forest**

Unbelievable! Kirito was basically an outcast, looked down upon by a large amount of his fellow players. For what? Being lucky and getting to play in the Beta test? Being skilled at Online Video Games? It's not his fault that the general population of the game couldn't keep up. Did they even read the guidebook? He had written the entire section on Early Level Training and First-Floor Survival. But oh no, since he wasn't there to hold all 10,000 players hands while they played, he was a dirty beater, who cared about no one but himself. How ridiculous. Kirito let out what was a mix between a cry and a growl in frustration. He drew his blade and slaughtered the local _Boars_. It felt good to release that anger, and in fact, it helped him focus. All of his strikes were launched so furiously and landed so accurately, that even the boss of the floor might tremble in fear. After the field was void of all mobs, Kirito's adrenaline levels began to return to normal and he calmed down a bit. In his rage, he didn't even notice that he pushed himself to Level 5 during the _Boar _massacre. He assigned his level up bonuses to STR (Strength) and AGI (Agility). He felt that these were the most important skills at the beginning levels. STR would allow him to hit harder, killing enemies faster and in return, getting more EXP. AGI would not only allow him to strike first in battles, but also run for longer distances, making travelling easier.

In his Skill Slots, he had [Searching] and [Hiding]. With his [Searching] ability, he could detect mobs and other players within his vicinity, even before he could see them. [Hiding] was also extremely useful, as it allowed him to sneak up on mobs and deliver a deadly sneak attack for a 2x Damage Bonus and also sneak by hostile players. As he entered the forest, he activated his [Searching] ability, but found nothing out of the ordinary. About 50 meters to his left there was a pack of _Wolves_, no doubt hunting for a meal. He figured it was best to avoid them for now. He could handle the lower leveled _Wolves_ one at a time, but a group assault (which _Wolves_ were infamous for), would likely lead to his death. It was unfortunate though. _Wolf Hides_ were fairly valuable, as they were used to create leather for various things. He would have to come back after getting his _Anneal Blade_ to do some col farming.

The journey through the forest was fairly quiet. He hadn't encountered…. "GRAAAAA!" Kirito's head snapped up in the direction that the growl, which was definitely human, and...female? Accompanying the growl was vicious barks and more animalistic growls. A player decided to challenge an entire pack of _Wolves_! Kirito sprinted towards the sound of the fight. He heard the whines of multiple beasts followed by the sound of them shattering into the multicolored polygons, signaling their death. He approached a clearing and was stunned by what he saw. A player, female by the looks of the long hair and well…curvy body, was lashing out at the _Wolves_ with incredible speed. She landed blow after blow without stopping or slowing down. By the time a _Wolf _had recovered from the first strike, the second had already hit its target. Miraculously, the red hood that covered her face never fell off, even though she was moving at near superhuman speeds. She was finishing off one _Wolf_ when two more charged her from behind. "WATCH OUT!" Kirito warned. She quickly looked at him, and then turned around to see two extremely angry beasts charging down upon her. She held her rapier horizontally and took the full impact of both attacks. The animals nearly stopped as soon as they met her blade and she only suffered a minor push backwards. All in one fluid motion, she stopped her backwards momentum and pushed forwards, launching herself at the two _Wolves_. Her rapier pierced the first creature and before it shattered into pieces, she pushed off of its back to continue her assault. She pulled back her weapon and it was engulfed in a pink aura. She performed a **Fury Strike**, which viciously hit the _Wolf_ five times. The woman kneeled on the ground panting as her final enemy was destroyed.

"Oh my god…" was all Kirito could manage to say. This woman had wiped out an entire pack of _Wolves_ all on her own, something even Kirito thought was impossible. The rewards from accomplishing such a feat would be great. Not only would she be rich, she would have gained a large amount of EXP. He noticed a pop-up that appeared in front of her. "Congratulations! You have reached Level 5!" She was the same level as him?! Who was this girl? "Uh, hi…" Kirito nervously spoke. He wasn't sure if she was a hostile player, and if she decided to attack him he could easily die. "That was…wow. That was amazing." He couldn't manage to find the words to express his astonishment at what the girl had just accomplished.

"Hmm. Solo, doesn't look very strong, but using an upgraded _Starting Sword_…" the woman began to analyze him, as she pulled off her hood. Kirito was stunned at how beautiful she was. Her long chestnut hair flowed around her _womanly_ body. Kirito shifted on his feet uneasily, unsure of how to respond to her scrutiny. "So, you're the famous Beater, right? Kirito-kun?" She declared.

Oh great. Was she going to hate him too? Then again, with her skill she had to be a beta tester. Either that or this girl was one of the best Online Gamers to ever exist. "I don't appreciate that name. I did just as much as the other people to help out new players. I wrote entire sections in the guidebook! I'm not a Beater; I'm just another player who happened to get into the Closed Beta." Kirito spat back. He was sick of being accused of letting the other players die while he reaped the rewards for himself. He wanted out of this world just as much as everyone else; it would be stupid on his part to withhold information.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you. But you are Kirito, are you not?" Kirito nodded in reply, "I am Asuna. Don't bother with honorifics. Thank you for your warning. Those last two mongrels probably would have gotten to me if you weren't there." She smiled. Kirito looked for any malice in her expression behind the mask of her kind words, but found nothing. She was sincerely thanking him. She couldn't be all bad…

"It's no problem." Kirito replied "It would have been a shame to see such a talented player die from a sneak attack. You were in the beta right? You're skills are quite amazing." Kirito stated. The confused look on her face led him to believe that he was wrong. "You weren't? You're a new player?" He couldn't hide the surprise in his voice. "Wow. That's uh, that's incredible." He complimented. She was just naturally gifted at the game. She would make a great ally, he thought. Wait, what? He was a Solo player, he didn't make allies. On the other hand, she could obviously hold her own. Two of the strongest Solo players in the game would probably make a good team. Right? "Hey, Asuna, would you like to party up? You can hold your own and wouldn't slow me down, and we're both strong solo players, right? I think we can help each other out." Kirito hadn't intended to come off as a big headed egomaniac, but that's exactly what he had done. "I mean um, I'm sorry. I mean you're an excellent fighter and with your speed and my strength, we could get through this forest in no time." He corrected.

"Slow down there, hot-shot." Asuna teased, "You might have a huge reputation, but I need to see if you can live up to it before I agree to anything." She scrolled through her menus and sent Kirito a Party Invite. "I'll go with you, at least until we get out of here. As long as you don't _slow me down_." she grinned, using his own words against him.

Kirito sighed as he accepted the invite. She was going to be a handful, but hopefully, it would be worth it. "Women…" he muttered.

**A/N: Whew. That was the longest chapter yet I believe. So Kirito met Asuna early in my story. While she's a bit more open and playful, she's still just as badass as she was in the Anime (well the beginning of the Anime anyway). So now the two best Solo players are in a party? This will be interesting. And fear not, I have no intentions of ruining Asuna's badass image. That was a huge mistake on the Anime's part, at least in my opinion. Thanks for reading! Leave a review or PM me with questions/concerns. Chapter 5 should be up tomorrow.**

**Chapter 5 – Horunka Village**

With their combined efforts, Kirito and Asuna make it through the forest extremely quickly. The few mobs that they encountered stood no chance against Kirito's strength mixed with Asuna's speed. Kirito would charge in first and knock their enemy off balance and then call out "Switch!" and Asuna would rush in and unleash a storm of attacks to finish their enemy off. Together, the pair seemed unbeatable. By the time the duo had reached Horunka Village, they were well on their way to Level 6. Grinding the rest of the way would have to wait for tomorrow though, as night had fallen and being out of the Safe Areas at night was dangerous.

"Man, I'm beat." Kirito sighed, "That was more exhausting than I had anticipated." He was swaying back and forth on his feet, barely able to walk in a straight line.

"Aw, so the best Solo player in the game is tired after a walk in the woods? How cute." Asuna teased. To be honest, she was just as tired, and felt like she could collapse at any moment. "I guess we should find an Inn for the night, since you obviously can't handle a little adventure." She said with a grin.

"Don't give me that crap Asuna, I can see it in your eyes. You're whipped too. Just admit it." Asuna defiantly stuck her nose in the air, refusing to give Kirito the pleasure of being right. "Anyway, I agree with finding an Inn. I know a good one, but it's kind of pricy. We could split the cost of a room if you'd like." Kirito suggested.

"We've known each other for a day and you're already trying to get me in bed with you? You pig!" Asuna cried. She almost couldn't keep a straight face as she saw the look of horror on Kirito's face as he realized what he had just said.

"N-no, it's not like…I mean I wouldn't…I'm…" Kirito's incoherent stuttering was met with a roar of laughter from Asuna. Kirito's face turned from apologetic to angry in half a second. "That's not funny! You know what I meant! Ugh, _girls_" he muttered. Asuna managed to contain her laughter to a fit of giggles here and there until they got to the Inn. She spoke to the NPC Clerk "We'll take one room, two beds, and preferably one with a shower." The NPC nodded and exchanged a room key for 500 col, split 50/50 by the two players.

When they reached their room, the players collapsed on their respective beds. Asuna stretched and decided she was going to take a well deserved shower. She also lightheartedly mentioned that she wouldn't hesitate to kick Kirito into next week if she caught him spying. The familiar look of fear that appeared on Kirito's face was just as comical as it was the first time. He really couldn't handle any innuendos. Oh well, Asuna thought, at least he respects girls instead of throwing himself all over them. The hot water relaxed her muscles and she let out a sigh of relief as the dirt and grime was washed away.

Kirito was still lying on his bed while Asuna showered. He had unequipped his combat gear and decided to take inventory. His armor and weapon were getting low on durability. He had plenty of col to get them repaired, so he made a mental note to do that the next morning. Throughout his trip through the forest, he had managed to gain quite a lot of col, well over 5000 in fact. Asuna was just as wealthy as he was. He was astonished to find another player who was as talented as he was, not to mention one that wasn't even a player in the Beta. Even more surprisingly, the player was _female_. Girls in video games weren't exactly rare, but the large majority of players were male. An even smaller percentage of "hardcore gamers" were female. Most girls on the internet were just playing games to get compliments and free items from the males who drooled over them. It was quite pathetic really. Kirito couldn't help but be amused with his circumstances. Here he was, legendary for being the best Solo player in the entire game, and yet he had partied up with someone in order to become stronger. The game becoming a virtual death trap had changed him quite a bit. He smiled as he slowly drifted off to sleep.

Kirito's internal alarm buzzed in his ears. He groggily pressed Confirm on the alarm pop-up and sat up. The sun was shining through the light curtains, forcing him to squint as he took in his surroundings. He rubbed his eyes and stretched his muscles. His heart nearly skipped a beat when he looked over to Asuna's bed. She was sleeping peacefully, wrapped up in her blankets. The sun shone through just enough to hit her auburn, causing it to shine. It wasn't until then that Kirito realized just how beautiful the young woman was. Kirito didn't want to use the words his friends in the real world usually used to describe girls. "Hot" or "Fine" didn't fit. She was…_gorgeous_. And yet, here she was, playing video games. She was something else, that's' for sure.

"Asuna, Asuna… Wake up." His attempt to wake his companion up was met with a groan and her wrapping herself further in her blankets. "Asuna! Come on." Nothing. She didn't even move that time. She must be a really heavy sleeper. Screw it; Kirito thought, she can rest a bit longer. In the meantime, he figured he might as well take a shower. He hadn't really taken the time to do so since the game began, and he knew he was filthy. He hadn't looked forward to taking a shower this much in his entire life.

Layer after layer of dirt and mud and god only knows what was washed away. He knew he was dirty, but he didn't realize he could have started a farm with all of the dirt on his body. His clothes automatically cleaned themselves when they were stored in the inventory, so he didn't really notice a change his cleanliness. The hot water also worked wonders for his tight muscles. He had been fighting or adventuring for almost three days now, without much of a break. He stretched over and over again as his muscles became more and more relaxed. Before he knew it, an hour had gone by, and he had wasted more time that he planned in the shower. It's not like it really mattered though, he was probably still two or three levels higher than the other players, excluding Asuna of course.

He stepped out and the game instantly dried him. He reequipped his street clothes, a blue tunic, some brown pants, and a pair of boots, and walked back into the bedroom. Asuna was awake by now, but she still had a groggy look about her, indicating she had only woken up a few minutes ago. "Good morning sleeping beauty." Kirito greeted, immediately regretting his use of that figure of speech. "I mean, um, good morning, Asuna-san." Asuna just chuckled at his odd need to be so polite.

"I told you to skip the honorifics, and I'm aware of the phrase Kirito. Although, if you really think I'm beautiful, that's even better." She winked. Kirito didn't know how to respond, and just stuttered as he tried to form a safe response. "Jeez, relax Kirito, it's just a joke.

"Right, well, um, I'm heading to the Blacksmith to get my weapons and armor repaired soon. Would you like to join me?" Asuna nodded in reply, "Just give me a few minutes. Let me organize my things and we can go." She said as she began to search through her inventory.

"Don't take too long. I want to start the "Secret Medicine of the Forest" quest today. You can do it too if you want. You get the _Anneal Blade_ weapon. It might not suit your fighting style, but it's rare, which makes it valuable. You have to grind on _Little Nepents _until you get the _Little Nepent's Ovule_. It can take a while, so a lot of players skip the quest and just buy the item." Kirito secretly wanted her to join him on his quest. Having someone to fight with not only allows him to kill enemies faster, but it gives him something to do while working towards his goal. The worst part of any MMO is grinding, and grinding alone is just awful.

"Well, I don't see why not. I could use some extra money and we'll level up along the way, so it's probably in my best interest to accept your offer. Thank you, by the way, for inviting me. Shall we go?" Kirito nodded and the couple headed off into the streets of Horunka Village.

**Chapter 6 – Secret Medicine of the Forest**

Kirito and Asuna stopped by the Blacksmith's Shop on the way to the quest start point. They paid for the repairs on their weapons and armor and continued on their way. Kirito considered upgrading his weapon to make the grinding easier, but decided it would most likely be a waste of col. The duo swiftly reached the NPC that would begin the quest for them, which was marked by a "?" over their head. As expected, the NPC recognized that they were players and triggered the quest. "Excuse me! Please, you have to help us!" the NPC pleaded, "Many people here have fallen ill, but cannot be cured without a special medicine. We're missing a key ingredient, the _Little Nepent's Ovule_, for the medicine. If you can get one for us, I will make it worth your time." Kirito simply responded with "I will help you." The system analyzed his response and the small "?" over the NPC's head disappeared, indicating that the quest had been started. The NPC recognized Asuna and began the quest dialogue again. "Excuse me! Please, you have to…" It was actually kind of comical to see the NPC repeat what it had just said to Asuna. When Asuna accepted the quest as well, the NPC returned to its business without saying another word. The pair began their journey to the location of the mob spawn.

Kirito hated this quest, as it was extremely boring, but the reward was too good to pass up. The _Anneal Blade_ was just about the best weapon a player could obtain until about floor five. The extremely powerful blade could be upgraded up to a total of eight times in Sharpness, Quickness, Accuracy, Heaviness, or Durability. The two common upgrades for the _Anneal Blade_ were Sharpness and Durability. On the lower floors, hitting harder would yield more EXP making Sharpness a viable option for an upgrade, and losing a weapon such as the _Anneal Blade_ would mean wasting hours of grinding, so Durability was almost a required upgrade. Kirito definitely wanted to put 3 upgrades into Sharpness and Durability, but that still left two upgrade options. He was lost in thought about what upgrades he would add when he noticed Asuna trying to communicate with him.

"…ito, hey! Hello? Kirito!" Asuna was practically yelling. Kirito finally looked up and acknowledged her. "It's about time. I thought I lost you there for a second. Anyway, so tell me again what we have to do for this quest. I know we need some special item, but how do we get it?" She asked. Kirito began to fill her in on the details of the quest. It was fairly straight forward; kill _Little Nepents_ until one with a flower on its head appears (which is extremely rare). Once you manage to kill the _Nepent_ with the _Ovule_, you bring it back to the NPC that started the quest, and she will reward you with an _Anneal Blade_. By the time Kirito had finished explaining their goal to Asuna, they had reached the area where their enemies would spawn. Sure enough the plant like monsters began to pop up around them. "We should be able to handle them on our own. Our levels are high enough to One Hit or Two Hit kill them if we use our stronger **Sword Skills**, but don't be afraid to call out if you need help. I'd be upset if you died because of something stupid." Kirito explained. Asuna responded with a quick nod and jumped into action.

Using her amazing speed, she opened with a **Fury Stab** skill before the first _Little Nepent_ could even counter her assault. Her storm of attacks managed to knock out 80% of her adversaries HP, putting it into the red zone. Her cooldown time left her open to attacks, but she had temporarily stunned her enemy, giving her time to recover and follow up with a simple **Uppercut**, eliminating the plant. As per usual, she received a small amount of EXP and col for defeating her enemy. It was a little disappointing to see how small the rewards were for killing these, but Kirito promised it would be worth it in the end.

Kirito had already finished off his first enemy as well, and did so in one hit. His weapon had a slightly higher Sharpness stat and he had distributed more points into his STR stat, giving him a slight advantage over Asuna, who focused more on AGI. Of course, the game's RNG, or Random Number Generator, played a part in the damage done by each attack. Kirito just hoped it would continue to work in his favor. He continued to cut his way through the mobs, unleashing **Spinning Strikes **and **Strong Slashes** whenever he could. Together, he and his ally had cleared the area of the deadly plants in 10 short minutes. The mobs would repop within the next two minutes, giving the players' Battle Healing skill enough time to kick in and replenish some of the health they had lost. Kirito had lost about 5% of his HP, while Asuna had only lost 2%. Her high AGI stat allowed her to dodge attacks more effectively while Kirito used a more head on strategy. Both players were nearly at full HP when the monsters respawned. Kirito noticed something odd about one of the _Nepents_. It had a small red object on top of its head! He couldn't believe it. In only their second group of enemies they would receive an _Ovule_. Perhaps Kayaba had decided the quest was too difficult and made it easier to complete. After all, the game may have been a death trap, but for the most part, it was fair. Asuna had noticed the special enemy as well and sprinted towards it. Kirito still couldn't believe his eyes, and he was right not to. When he took a closer look, he saw that the red object was not an _Ovule_, but a _Fruit_. His heart sank as he realized the gravity of their situation. Asuna hadn't known about the second kind of special _Nepent_ and had already unleashed a powerful **Fury Stab**, draining the monsters HP in one hit. She turned to Kirito with a huge grin on her face, but it quickly faded when she saw the grim expression on Kirito's. When a _Little Nepent_ bearing a _Fruit_ on its head was defeated, it released an odor that would attract a large amount of _Little Nepents_. It was this ability that led the Beta Players to call these kinds of monsters _Traps_, and Asuna had just sprung one of the worst.

"Asuna get back!" Kirito called. Asuna could tell he wasn't messing around and did what she was told. The confused look on her face demanded an explanation of what was happening. "That wasn't an _Ovule_, it was a _Fruit_. When you killed that _Nepent_, it released a scent that will bring any other _Nepent_s in the area to us. This is bad."

"Kirito, I'm so sorry. I-I didn't know! K-Kirito…" her voice trailed off. She was on the verge of tears. She might be responsible for the death of some of the strongest players in the game.

"Get a hold of yourself Asuna. It's not your fault. You couldn't have known. It was my fault for not telling you about them. How could I be so stupid? I won't let you die Asuna. While I'm still here, you're going to live, and I don't intend on going anywhere soon." The power in Kirito's voice was scary, but reassuring. He radiated strength, and the look in his eyes could kill. Slowly the _Little Nepents _surrounded the two players. A normal group of the plants consisted of about 15 monsters, but there were at least 70 of them ready to attack the duo. "We'll handle this just like the _Wolves_ Asuna. I'll charge in first, knocking it off balance while you finish it off. It's a good thing that you're fast, because by the time you finish the first one, I'll be in the process of stunning the second. Don't use **Sword Skills**, the cooldown time will leave you wide open to multiple attacks, and you know what that means." Kirito was confident they could do this if they stuck to the plan. Then he grinned, "Don't slow me down." Asuna didn't even have time to respond before Kirito jumped into battle. He attacked the first flower with such force that it was knocked 10 feet into the air. If that had been an **Uppercut** Sword Skill, he probably would have drained it's HP twice with that one hit, but he had only depleted about 70% of its HP. Asuna followed up his attack, jumping into the air, slashing the plant multiple times, causing it to shatter into multicolored polygons. She hit the ground rolling and carried her momentum into her next attack. Just like Kirito had said, the next enemy was already stunned. She again followed up his attack, finishing off the enemy. Everything was going well through the first 10 enemies. Kirito had taken a few hits, taking his HP down to about 90%, but he kept going. Asuna had managed to keep her HP at 100% through the ferocious battle. Unfortunately, Kirito's strength was diminishing. His attacks were becoming weaker and weaker and his pace had slowed down just a bit. He pushed through his weakness, but the game was dictated by numbers, and his AGI stat couldn't handle this much action at one time. He stunned one more enemy and called out to Asuna, "Change of plans! Stick to dodging or stunning while I recover. I'm too weak to keep going at this pace!" Asuna confirmed that she understood while she finished off the last enemy Kirito had stunned.

They regrouped in the center of the ring the _Nepents_ had created around them. The _Nepents_ began their attacks all at once. If either player was hit they would be caught in a never ending combo of attacks that would inevitably lead to their death. Miraculously, Asuna had managed to avoid all of the attacks that came her way, while Kirito dodged the majority and used his sword to block the others. However, the blizzard of vines was unending. Eventually Kirito was hit and sent flying backwards. He was hit again and again in midair; taking out a significant amount of HP. Asuna was in the middle of dodging an attack when he was thrown into her. The vines cast a dark shadow over them as the seemingly invincible duo was slammed into the unforgiving ground.

**A/N: You know how I said that this section would probably be short? I lied. I didn't intend for it to be this long, but the words just kept flowing and before I knew it the chapter was over 1,500 words! Anyway, our heroes are in quite the predicament. Their situation seems rather hopeless at the moment. We'll have to wait and see what happens in chapter 7.**

**Also, thank you again to everyone who has favorited, followed, and reviewed my story. I know I say this every chapter, it really means a lot! I did get one "negative" review, but it's ok, because all of the points in the review were valid. My story is shockingly similar to a lot of other FanFics when it comes to starting the story. Don't worry though, once we get the first few floors out of the way, then my ideas will take over and things will be noticeably different. If you leave a negative review, that's perfectly fine! Just make sure you tell me why you don't like it and how I can improve. Look forward to Chapter 7 soon :) **

**Chapter 7 – The Promise**

The vines circled Kirito and Asuna, cutting off any possible escape route. They were completely defenseless against the overwhelming number of monsters attacking them. The vines began to circle their bodies, constricting them and literally choking the life out of them. The crushing force of the vines began to slowly drain the HP of the trapped players. Kirito watched as his HP dropped into the yellow zone, followed by the orange, and finally the red zone. His vision began to blur and darken. The world was quickly fading around him. "I….I'm s-sorry, Asuna. I'm…so…." He let out a groan as the darkness took over. Asuna was fading just as quickly, only her entire body was covered by the plants. She was beginning to pass out when she heard the sound of metal striking the _Little Nepents_. "Hurry! Attack them all!" she heard an unfamiliar voice call out. "Hold on Kirito! I'm coming for you man!" The sounds of battle roared around Asuna, and she felt the vines begin to loosen. Unfortunately, their savior had been too late. The darkness consumed her just as it had consumed Kirito. She gave in and awaited her death.

But it never came. For what seemed like years she rested in a state of limbo between life and death. She remained in the darkness, praying for someone to pull her back into the light, into the world of the living. "I'm sorry Asuna." She jumped at the sound of Kirito's voice. "I promised I would keep you safe, but I wasn't strong enough. I just couldn't hold on. I'm….I'm sorry." And with that he was gone, just as quickly as he had came. "Kirito! Kirito! KIRITO!" she screamed and screamed until someone put their hand over her mouth.

"Jesus woman! Are you trying blow everyone's eardrums?" A voice asked. It was the same voice that she had heard just before she was rescued. She opened her eyes to find a man with a red bandana holding her down. She began to squirm and yell. "Hey hey hey, you're not in any danger. I'm going to take my hand off of your mouth, and you're going to calm down. Alright?" Klein slowly pulled away from her but her anger resumed. "Where the FUCK is Kirito?! And what in the HELL do you think you're doing?!" she roared. The look in her eyes pierced right through Klein's soul. "K-Kirito is fine. He's still recovering in the other room. As for what I was doing, saving your life seems to be a good place to start. You two were screwed until my friends and I came along." He explained, his voice marked by anger of his own. "So why don't you just calm down."

"I'm…I'm sorry. I was scared…terrified actually. Is Kirito….is he ok? He's going to come back…right?" Her voice trembled as she began to remember the events that had happened the night before. Well, was it the night before? How long had she been out of it? "Please tell me he's ok."

Klein smiled gently, "He's going to be fine. He's been waking up off and on, just long enough to call your name by the way. It's a miracle you two are still alive. You were both down to your last 10 HP when the _Nepents_ finally released you. About a week has passed so why don't you just take it easy, ok?" Klein spoke with reassurance, which surprisingly helped Asuna's mood significantly. She started to stand up but was overcome with dizziness. Klein offered his shoulder for her to lean on and they slowly made their way to Kirito's room. He was completely passed out, in fact he almost looked…_dead_. However, his HP indicator said otherwise, as it was fully restored at 100%. "Ki-Kirito?" Asuna whispered softly. Kirito twitched slightly. "Kirito come back. Please. It wasn't your fault. I need you here Kirito. Don't give in." Asuna pleaded and begged and prayed for him to respond. God, whoever that was in this world, answered her prayers. "As….Asuna. I'm…I'm sorry." Kirito's voice was almost inaudible, and only Asuna was able to hear him. Asuna remained silent, trying to fight back the tears that were welling up in her eyes. She took Kirito's hand and waited. Klein had already left the room and the two were left alone.

Hours continued to go by, but Asuna refused to leave Kirito's side. It was well into the night before she finally passed out on Kirito's bed, still lightly holding on to his hand. It felt so right to Asuna. It seemed as if fate had brought them together to serve a greater purpose. Whether that purpose was to defeat the death trap known as Sword Art Online or something completely different remained to be seen. However, all that mattered was here and now, and everything seemed to be alright for now. For the first time since the game started, Asuna slept through the night without any nightmares.

Kirito slipped in and out of consciousness throughout the night. He was fairly shocked to see Asuna lying next to him in his bed, but he didn't argue. Having her there made him feel secure. She had already changed so much in his life in just a few short weeks. Kirito had always been independent. Ever since he found out his sister was actually his cousin, he isolated himself from his family. He became sucked into the world of online gaming, a world where you could be anyone you wanted and no one would ever have to know the real you. He carried his isolated ways into his gaming, often playing Solo or in a very small group when necessary. Sword Art Online, and more specifically, Asuna, had changed all of that. In SAO, who were in the game was who you were in real life. The decisions you made would directly affect the life, the real life, of another human being. Being a PKer in this game didn't just make you a strong player, it made you a murderer. When he first met Asuna, he didn't plan on partying up with her. He warned her of the incoming attacks simply to preserve the life of another player. It was her skill that first made him reconsider. She was strong, smart, and gifted. She was on par with or even above Kirito's talents. Then, their journey through the woods revealed exactly how strong their connection was. Not only were they amazing in battle, but their friendship was like that of two people who had known each other since early childhood. Everything just seemed to fit perfectly into place between them. Their bond made Kirito protective, and even slightly possessive of Asuna. Kirito's feelings for Asuna weren't romantic; at least he didn't think so. They were more….well, he wasn't sure what they were. One thing was for certain though, he would protect her. "Asuna, I won't let you get hurt again. You're going to survive this game, even it means I won't. I promise." Kirito whispered into her ear. She was fast asleep, so she didn't hear his words, but that didn't diminish the sincerity behind them. When Kirito made a promise, he kept it. He drifted off to sleep once more, with his words still ringing in his head. "I promise".

**A/N: Sorry for the late update. I may have gotten sidetracked with the release of 2007 RuneScape servers… my bad. Anyway, tell me what you thought of this chapter. If you think I'm moving them along too fast, don't worry. Things will return to a "friends only" kind of relationship after their both back at 100%, and things might even be slightly awkward because of this chapter. I'm not too good with the cute and fluffy stuff, but I tried. Be sure to point out any errors with grammar/spelling mistakes you come across. Sometimes I miss the little things, even after proofreading. Leave a review with any comments/suggestions you have! I'm aiming to please you, the readers, so if you have an idea, by all means put it in a review or a PM and I will do my best to incorporate it into the story (assuming it's not completely ridiculous or plot breaking). Thanks again to all of you for reading! **

**Chapter 8 – The Blades**

Day had already broken when Kirito finally woke up from his long sleep. His memories of the events that occurred recently were extremely blurry and almost distant. He should be dead. He passed out before his heath hit zero, but there was no way Asuna could have gotten them out of that. Someone had to have saved him, but who? And what were they going to want in return? Kirito's vision was blurred by how tired he was, but when it finally cleared he nearly had a heart attack. Asuna was sleeping in HIS bed, while he was in it! After his heart rate returned to normal, the visions of last night slowly began to come back to him. He had fallen in and out of consciousness throughout the previous night, so it was hard to determine what memories were real and which ones came from his dreams. It didn't matter, though, because in all of them Asuna was at his side. She had been beside him the entire time he was in a coma, as far as he could tell anyway. _She forgives me_? He thought, _I nearly got her killed, and she stayed by my side anyway_. He recalled his most recent memory. "Asuna, I won't let you get hurt again. You're going to survive this game, even it means I won't. I promise." His words echoed in his mind. He had committed himself to protecting her and getting her back into the real world, and he didn't regret it at all. She had given him something that he had lacked for years now, something that he could never repay her for. Friendship. His years of isolation had made him extremely lonely, even though he never realized it. Now that he had a friend, he was going to do whatever it took to keep them. He hoped that this friendship would carry on once everyone was free from this virtual hell. Maybe they could meet in the real world and even…

"Kirito, man, I don't know how you do it." Kirito was ripped from his daydream by a voice he never expected to hear again. "We've been here for under a month and you've got a girl all over you." He looked up and saw Klein's grinning face. "She nearly blew our eardrums when she woke up and started screaming for you. So what's the deal between you two? C'mon, let your friend in on the details bro." Klein was fishing for any information he could pull out of Kirito about him and his mysterious companion.

"Um, well, first of all, where are we? And how am I not dead?" Kirito asked. Klein chuckled at his bluntness.

"Well good buddy, you are at the home of the unofficial guild Fuurinkazan, led by yours truly. We're in Tolbana Town right now. As for your second question, my guild mates, or my friends from real life, and I saved you and your girlfriend. I couldn't just let my mentor die like that. We rushed in and managed to distract the plants so they released you. I got to you as fast as I could and carried you both back into town. It was close, man. You had 2 HP left when they let you go. Consider this payment for helping me out in the beginning. I would still be back in starting city without your help." Klein smiled as he finished his recollection of the events. "Now, back to the important stuff, who is _she_?" Klein questioned again.

"First of all, she's not my girlfriend, she's just my friend. I met her on the way to the village. She was taking on a pack of wolves all by herself. You should see the girl fight, she might be better than me. Anyway, two of the wolves were sneaking up on her so I called out and warned her. We decided that it would be beneficial for both of us if we teamed up, so we did. That's all there is too it." Kirito declared.

Klein wasn't buying it. "You see, friends, don't just scream for each other immediately after waking up. Friends don't stay at the side of their "friends" bed for 12 hours straight, and then hop into bed with them when they got tired. Friends don't do that. Although, that IS something that couples do." Klein was extremely pleased with himself as he watched Kirito turn a deep shade of scarlet. He had backed Kirito right into a corner. "It's cool man. Good for you." Klein gave Kirito a mischievous smile and began to walk out of the room.

"No! Klein, it's not…I mean…we're not." Klein ignored Kirito as he closed the door. "Damn it." Kirito swore to himself.

Kirito took some time to get back into the loop of things. According to his menus internal clock, he had been out cold for quite some time. All of his gear and col were left untouched, and his stats were fine. His inventory consisted of the random drops from the_ Nepents_ and some other useless items. Something caught his eye at the bottom of his inventory. _Little Nepent's Ovule x4_. Kirito nearly fainted. He materialized all four items and couldn't believe his eyes. It was rare to get one _Ovule_ out of 100 kills, and somehow they had gotten four. "Klein! Klein!" Kirito rushed out of his room, "How did I get these!?" He yelled and asked at the same time. Klein, taken by surprise, jumped and dropped his glass of water on the floor. "Uh…" he started as the drink disintegrated, "Well, we found two of them when we saved you guys. We were curious, so we started asking around and found out what they were. My guild and I started the quest ourselves in order to get _Anneal Blades_ to sell so our guild could have some money. We were out there day and night killing those things and managed to get quite a few. We had two left over so I traded them to you." Klein began to pour another drink "Oh, and don't worry about a bunch of people having your legendary blade. We sold them to an NPC weapons dealer for 50,000 col a piece. They sell items for double the amount they bought them for, so if someone wants an _Anneal Blade_ from that shop, they better be loaded." Kirito had to hand it to Klein. While the man was a bit goofy and odd, he was smart. Not only would Fuurinkazan be rich, the _Anneal Blade_ would still be rare for a good amount of time.

"Thanks Klein, this is incredible. Asuna and I could each have two _Anneal Blades_ if we wanted now!" Kirito was absolutely giddy when he thought of having two amazing weapons.

"What about Asuna?" A female voice questioned. Kirito looked up to see Asuna sleepily rubbing her eyes.

"Klein managed to get us FOUR _Ovules_, so we could each have two _Anneal Blades _if we wanted to!" Kirito sounded like a small child in a candy shop. He was practically bouncing up and down with pure excitement. "I'm going to go claim our blades. I can turn the quest in for you so you can shower and do whatever you need to do! I'll be back soon!" Kirito rushed for the door.

"Kirito wait!" Klein called out, "The players have organized a meeting to talk about taking down the first boss. It starts in two hours in the center of town." Klein said in a serious tone.

"Two hours, center of town. Got it." Kirito confirmed, and then sprinted out of the door.

Asuna noticed a blinking "!" in the corner of her vision. She pushed her finger against it and it opened a message.

_I have the Blades! I'm going to get mine upgraded, so I won't be back_

_until the meeting starts. I'll just meet you there. What do you want_

_to do with your blades. Keep one, sell one? Keep both? Sell both? Let_

_me know. If you keep one, I can cover the upgrade costs too. Oh_

_and don't be afraid of Klein. He might be goofy, but he's not_

_dangerous. He's a friend of mine, so be nice._

_-Kirito_

She read the message quickly and began to think about her decision. She was mostly a rapier user, because it supported her quick attack style. However, Kirito made the _Anneal Blade_ sound really strong. Maybe she should give it a shot.

_I think I'll sell one and keep the other. I can always sell it later_

_right? I want to try it out first, since it does seem really strong._

_Put two upgrades into quickness and one into durability for me _

_please. You can use the money from the other blade to pay for it._

_I've already talked to Klein a little bit. He's nice, but a little flirty. I _

_think I can handle him though. I'll try avoid killing him :P_

_-Asuna_

Kirito read her reply as he continued on towards the blacksmith's shop. He shot out a quick reply, confirming that he understood what she wanted, and quickly made his way deeper into town. He was greeted by a pink haired female player when he walked in to the blacksmith's shop. "Hey there! What can I do for you?" she asked politely. Kirito frowned. "I need to get these swords upgraded and I need to sell this one. Can you handle that?" He asked.

He had clearly offended her. "Can I handle THAT!? Of course I can. The question is, can YOU pay for it?" She retorted.

"Yes, I can. Two Sharpness, one durability on one sword, and two quickness and one durability on the other. 50k for the other one." He threw the money to pay for the upgrades onto the table. Her jaw nearly hit the floor.

"50k thousand for that! Are you cr….oh. I see. An _Anneal Blade_ huh. Three of them actually. Ok. So 2S1D on one, and 2Q1D on the other? I can just take the money out of the payment for the third blade if you'd like." She said.

"No, the blade I'm selling is for a friend. I'll pay for the upgrades separately." He stated.

"Ok. Give me 10 minutes." She took the three _Blades_ to the back of the shop where the Anvil was. She placed the weapon she was buying on a weapons rack and returned to the other two. She placed the first into the furnace, allowing it to get red hot. She then brought it over to the anvil and began to hammer away at it. She was completely focused at the task at hand. After hitting the blade multiple times while adding bits of material to it, she placed it into a large container of water to cool off. She turned to Kirito and smiled, "One down, one to go!" She repeated the process, using slightly different materials this time, and began to look over the blades. She nodded and smiled, clearly pleased with her work.

"Well, I'm impressed. I'm sorry for doubting you Miss….?" Kirito trailed off, realizing he didn't actually know her name.

"Lisbeth, just call me Liz. And don't worry about it. I know a pink haired girl doesn't seem like the blacksmith type, but I figured I could help out this way without actually fighting, so I put all of my effort into this. You know what they say, 'Don't judge a book by its cover', or something like that." She smiled. "And here is your money for the other blade. Does your friend know how valuable that weapon is? They must really trust you to give it to you like that. Either that or they're really stupid."

"Trust me, she knows. It cost a lot just to get. It almost cost us our lives." With that, he turned around and left the shop. There was still about twenty minutes until the meeting would start, so Kirito decided to look around the town and see if anything had changed since the beta. Speaking of the beta, it was almost time to put his knowledge of the boss to good use. It was almost time to clear the first floor.

**A/N: Sorry I didn't update at all this weekend! I was really busy and didn't have much time to write. I'll try to get two chapters up today to make up for it. Anyway, so Kirito and Asuna are both rested and recovered from their near death experience. Klein and his friends saved the day and even grinded on some ****_Nepents_** **for a ton of ****_Ovules_****. A week of grinding means some serious leveling too. We'll see how that plays out in the boss fight :) We had a bit of Liz in this chapter too. We'll be seeing more of her in the future. As always, thank you so much for reading my story! Be sure to leave a review with any comments, questions, or suggestions you have. Point out any mistakes you see as well. I tend to miss those sometimes :P **

**-TBS**

**Chapter 9 – The Plan**

A large group had already gathered at the center of town when Kirito arrived. He searched around and quickly found Asuna and Klein. It was hard to miss the red bandana that Klein was always wearing. He took his seat between them, but they didn't have time for talking as a blue haired man began to shush the crowd. The players, anxious to get on with the meeting, silenced themselves almost immediately. He began to speak with a powerful voice.

"Hello, everyone. Thank you all for coming. My name is Diabel, and I guess you could say I was the one who organized this meeting. Unfortunately, if you are under level 10, I must ask you to leave. This boss is very dangerous and capable of killing you with one hit." A few players began to protest, but the man spoke over them. "I refuse to allow anyone to die under my command because they foolishly rushed into battle, even though they were too weak. That would be a waste of a human life, and I cannot allow that. If you are not Level 10, please leave now. We appreciate your desire to help, but it's a risk that I will not take." The protesting players, seeing that arguing was futile, slowly left along with the others. "Now, I need everyone to stand up." The group was confused by his strange demand, but complied anyways. "Ok, anyone below Level 12, sit down." Four or five players returned to their seats. "Anyone below Level 15, please sit down." About half of the remaining players also seated themselves. "Level 20?" Everyone was now seated except for Kirito, Asuna, Klein, and a two of the strongest players from Fuurinkazan. Diabel was more than pleased to see that there were some extremely high leveled players present. "Excellent. You five, please tell us your name and level. Starting from the right." Klein's friends spoke.

"Uh, I'm Nao, and I'm Level 20." He stated

"I'm Kayuu, Level 21." The next man said.

"Klein, Level 23. Also the leader of the guild these two guys are from." He said as he gestured towards the two players that had just spoken.

"Excellent, so you already know how to work in a group." Diabel noted. "What about you two."

"Asuna, 25."

"Kirito. 25. Asuna and I have been working together for the past few weeks. Well, we worked together for a few days really. We were knocked out a few weeks ago when _Little Nepents_ swarmed us." He explained

The crowd began to murmur. "Kirito?" "I know who that is. He's that beater right?" "Oh great, he's probably going to cheat during the boss fight so he gets all the rewards." The insults grew from a whisper to people calling out to him. Finally, a spiky haired player stood up and called him out.

"We don't want you here! You're just a dirty beater! No wonder you're Level 25, you and your beater girlfriend probably took all of the good training spots while we struggled to get out of _Starting City_! Why don't you just hand over all your money and items and get out!" The player yelled. His angry attacks were met with cheers of agreement from some of the others. Kirito, completely pissed off about the attack on not only him, but Asuna as well, started to retaliate when Diabel cut him off.

"Everyone shut up!" Diabel yelled. Shocked by the anger in his voice, the crowd fell silent. "Kirito, it is nice to finally put a face to the legendary name." He smiled. "Everyone, please open the guidebook you received and flip to chapter 12." He commanded. He figured that no one had read that far into the handbook, and in fact, most of them had probably stopped reading after the "Game Mechanics" and "Getting Started" sections. "Now, Mr…. I'm sorry, what's your name?" He asked the spiky haired man.

"Kibaou." The man answered.

"Right. Kibaou, would you please tell me the title of the chapter and the author?" Diabel requested.

"Uh, I guess so. Early Level Training, written by….Kirito…?" Kibaou read. He flushed a fierce shade of red as he realized what he had done. "Well…he's still a dirty cheater! He…" His ranting was cut short by Diabel.

"Enough. If any of you had bothered to read the entire book, you would have known that Kirito detailed all of the best training spots for Floor One. If any of you still have a problem with him, I suggest you leave." No one moved or said a word. "That's what I thought. Now, we have 42 people here, and six high leveled players, including myself. My plan requires seven groups, so we'll need a leader for the last group."He began to look around for volunteers. Finally a large African-American man stood up, holding his battleaxe.

"My name's Agil. I'm Level 18, so I should be able to handle leading that group."

"Excellent. Thank you for volunteering, Agil." Diabel nodded, and then continued with his presentation. He pulled up his image sharing menu, and projected a picture of what everyone assumed was the boss room. "Using information that was detailed in the guidebook, which I suggest all of you actually read now, I have created a plan of attack for the boss, also known as _Illfang the Kobold Lord_. Groups A, B, and C, lead by Kirito, Asuna, and myself, will be the main attack groups, leading the assault on _Illfang_. Group D, lead by Agil, will be the tank group, distracting _Illfang _and allowing Groups A, B, and C to attack. Groups E, F, and G, lead by Klein, Nao, and Kayuu, will take out _Illfang's_ minions, known as _Ruin Kobold Sentinels_. Three of them spawn initially, along with three more for every HP bar _Illfang_ loses, for a total of twelve throughout the battle." Everyone was quiet, focusing on taking in all of the information. "Those of you between Levels 10 and 15 will be in Groups E, F, and G. If there isn't an even number of players, the highest leveled player will move up to Group C. Please begin sorting yourselves." The players all shifted around and began introducing themselves to their group members and leader. Luckily there was an even number. After everyone was situated, Diabel continued. "Alright, good. Now, anyone that is Level 17 and over is welcome to join my group. Five players stood up and walked towards Diabel. "The remaining players will divide themselves up between Asuna and Kirito." The rest of the players rushed over to Asuna, begging to join her group. Diabel smacked his forehead with his palm. Of course they would want to be led by a female who was obviously talented at video games. "Everyone stop! Knock it off!" The players continued to bicker about who would get to be in Asuna's group. "THAT'S IT!" Diabel yelled. The fighting ceased immediately and everyone turned to face him. "Line up!" The remaining players unhappily did what they were told, mostly out of fear. "You six are with Kirito, you six are with Asuna. If you want to argue, you can leave." Diabel, clearly frustrated, was done messing around. "Do you understand what is at stake here? If this goes wrong, we could all die! Not just here, but in the real world! Get that through your head. This isn't a game anymore." He sighed, "We'll meet here tomorrow, at the same time. It's time to kill this bastard and take our first step towards freedom." With that he walked away, officially ending the meeting.

**A/N #2: That's the end of the original story, and the rewrite will be posted soon. Again, I'm sorry for completely restarting the story, but this unfortunate event seemed like a sign that I needed to redo it and fix some things. I dunno, but I hope you stick with me for the rewrite. :) **

**-TwinBladeSwordsman**


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

"_Sword Art Online is a revolution to the world of online gaming. For years people have played video games and said to themselves 'I wish I was this character' or 'I wonder what it's like to be a hero'. Well, I have made it possible for 10,000 people to live that dream. Sword Art Online is more than just a game, it's an alternate life. It gives people a chance to be who they want to be and live how they want to live. For so long we have used controllers and Keyboards and Mice to simply control a character in a video game. When you play Sword Art Online, it's a completely different experience. When you play Sword Art Online…your mind is the controller. Your body __**is**__ the character. We have big things planned for this world, and it all starts on November 6__th__." _–Kayaba Akihiko, MMO Magazine

Kirigaya Kazuto, better known as Kirito, read the article multiple times every day. He, like thousands of other gamers across the world, eagerly anticipated the release of the game that would forever change technology. Sword Art Online, or SAO for short, was the first fully immersive, virtual reality video game to ever hit the market. It came packaged with the NerveGear, a headset that could connect to the human brain and translate the messages the brain sent to the body into a code that was usable in video games. It completely shattered the barriers that held modern games back and carried technology to unforeseen heights. Kayaba Akihiko, the man behind SAO and the NerveGear, is known worldwide as a genius in computer engineering. Some have even said that he could carry humanity into a completely new era with unimaginable technology. The young genius began work on his virtual reality project sometime during his University years. The development of Sword Art Online and the NerveGear took over a decade, but his plans were kept quiet. Early in the year of 2022, Kayaba made an announcement via the internet, stating that registrations for the "largest evolution in the world of video games" were open. Many curious individuals ripped through the never ending knowledge of the Internet, but found nothing on the man that was claiming that he could change the world of games. Even though information on the project was scarce, more than 50,000 people applied for the beta, in hopes of being amongst the first to experience the new technology. Out of 50,000 applicants, only 1,000 players were chosen for the closed beta test, and Kirito was one of them.

During the 6 months that the beta was open, Kirito had logged over 50 days into the game. His schedule consisted of school, the game, and minimal sleep. The fact that the game was played through virtual reality was kept secret from the public until the first round of beta testers got their hands on the game. The NerveGear had been used for small puzzle and educational games, so it wasn't completely foreign to some people, but no one had expected SAO to utilize the technology, especially because it was unknown that Kayaba Akihiko was the man who developed it. Kirito was surprised to receive a NerveGear system along with his beta copy, but he was determined to at least give the game a shot. His mind was absolutely blown when he experienced his first "FullDive", or his first jump into full virtual reality. He issued the startup command ("Link Start!"), as the manual had instructed, and was mesmerized as the world around him faded out, slowly being replaced by the world the NerveGear had created. He was presented with a white room which contained a single terminal in the center. He was already extremely impressed with the immersive environment, and he had only experienced a small fraction of what the NerveGear was capable of. He looked down at himself and found that he was wearing a simple white jumpsuit that was a bit too bright for his taste. He tried to take a step forward, but realized he didn't actually know how to control this new body of his. He remembered hearing that the NerveGear was supposed to be capable of reading brain signals, so he decided to test the new hardware out. He wasn't exactly sure what to do, so he simply thought of the motion of walking. His brain sent the signal to his real body, but it was intercepted by the NerveGear, which then sent the signal to his virtual body. His heart pounded in his chest as he took his first step inside of the virtual world. He was completely astonished by what had just happened. In just nanoseconds, the new technology had translated a message sent from his brain to his body into a code that was recognized by the game! He repeated the motion multiple times and stumbled around the room like a baby taking its first steps. Slowly but steadily, he managed to walk a complete lap around the room. When he was satisfied with his ability to walk, he attempted to gain control of his hands. Starting with his fingers, he went down the line on each hand and twitched the different appendages. He repeated the motions until he was able to completely control his fingers. Kirito grinned throughout his entire learning process. Everything was mind boggling to him, even just moving his fingers. Pleased with his progress in finger control, he moved onto moving his entire hand. He made fists, clapped, and rotated his hands back and forth. During his motions, he accidently swiped his right hand downwards, which happened to be the command to open the NerveGear's Main Menu. Using his finger as a cursor to scroll through the different options, he familiarized himself with the functions of the menu. Most of the options were unavailable to him because he was not in the game yet. However, he did navigate through the "Settings" submenu and changed the theme from "Default" to "Midnight", which changed the walls around him gray and turned his white outfit into a black one that suited his style. Satisfied with his knowledge of the basic controls, he approached the terminal.

"Hello, and welcome to the world of Sword Art Online! Congratulations on being selected as one of the few people who will have access to the beta version of Sword Art Online for the next 6 months. I see that you have already become familiar with the basic controls of the NerveGear system. If you wish to practice some more, you can play through the tutorial."

A small window appeared in front of Kirito's face that read,

"Play through the tutorial?" There were two options below the text, a blue circle for yes, and a red X for no. Kirito felt that he had already learned enough, so he pushed his finger against the red X and it quickly disappeared. He was still shocked by the smallest features of the game. It had actually noticed that he learned information about the system on his own and adjusted its opening message accordingly. If the entire game was like this, it truly would be the biggest evolution in the world of gaming.

Another message was displayed,

"You have chosen to skip the tutorial. You can access the tutorial at any time through the main menu. You may now create your username and password. Please fill out the forms below." The message faded and Kirito was presented with the normal Registration Form for all websites or online services. He proceeded to fill them out with the virtual keyboard that popped up when he clicked on a field.

_E-Mail: Kirito ********.com_

_Username: Kirito_

_Password: ************_

_Date of Birth: 9/25/2007_

_Country of Residence: Japan_

He looked over the information and pressed "Confirm" at the bottom of the form. The room suddenly changed into a completely black enclosure with a hologram projector in the middle. The terminal read "Avatar Creation" and displayed seemingly endless options. Various touch sensitive sliders allowed him to change his Avatar's skin tone, hair style and color, facial hair style and color, body height, body weight, body build, tattoos, body paint, and clothes. He played with the various options for hours, making sure everything was absolutely perfect. He decided upon an Avatar that looked around 18 years old. He had long black hair and black eyes. His body was slender and not very well built, but that didn't actually matter because strength in the game was dictated by skills, not appearance. Once he had double checked his Avatar and decided he was satisfied, he pressed the "Confirm Avatar" button at the bottom right of the display. He pressed confirm again on the "Are You Sure?" Notification and watched as the world the NerveGear had created slowly faded away, being replaced by a completely new creation.

When the world was fully created and he materialized inside of it, he was awestruck. The buildings were architectural masterpieces, the grass and water looked exactly like they did in real life, and the people were…lifelike. The Non-Player Characters (NPCs) were carrying out business like real humans, and were interacting with other players like they were one of them. The AI was nearly as intelligent as the human brain. NPCs could interpret what human players were saying and create an appropriate response. They basically were human. Kayaba was right; this really was an alternate life.

From that day forward, Kirito anticipated the full launch of the game. When everyone had access to it, the game would truly be alive. People from every country in the world would log on and live a completely different life than they did in the real world. They would experience everything first hand, and not through the eyes of a character that they simply controlled. Everything in the game would be real. Kirito would be able to escape his real life and live the life he wanted inside of this game. Kirito had become obsessed with online gaming after he found out that Suguha was his cousin, and not his biological sister. His parents had died in an accident a year after his birth, and his Aunt and Uncle had taken him in. Kirito and Suguha were raised as siblings, until his Aunt accidentally let it slip that he was her cousin, and not her brother. He began to distance himself from his family and became sucked into online video games. A world where a person could be anything they wanted without any limits was extremely appealing to Kirito, and it didn't take long for him to become addicted. For years he had ignored Suguha as a way to deal with the fact that she wasn't his real sister, and gaming made that easy. When he first began playing Sword Art Online, his interactions with people in his real life nearly ended. He talked to his aunt and uncle occasionally, but he never communicated with any friends or with Sugu. He went to school and isolated himself from the other kids, and then returned home to play the game until he passed out. It was a daily routine and his family just accepted it.

When the beta ended, he continued to isolate himself from other people. He made no effort to make friends in school, because quite frankly, he didn't want any. When he was home, he stayed in his room and researched anything about Sword Art Online. Even though he was one of the best players in the beta, he was sure he missed valuable information. Multiple forums were started for the beta testers who wanted to discuss their experiences and for the aspiring players who just wanted information. Kirito spent hours on these boards, talking about different strategies for leveling up, making money, or traversing through the dangerous world. The internet exploded with information about Sword Art Online, and it was clear that it was taking over the video game industry.

Kayaba Akihiko went from an average person to an internationally known genius in a matter of days. He was soon seen on every talk show in Japan and in every newspaper across the nation. People begged and cried for information about the game, but he refused to give out any specifics. He simply stated that he had "big things planned for the world". Kirito, as well as the other beta testers, knew that he wasn't exaggerating. Once people actually witnessed the game, the gaming world would never be the same. Kayaba became an idol to Kirito. The man had created one of the most amazing pieces of technology in the history of mankind, and he had done it almost alone. In fact, the only assistance he had come from his lover, Koujiro Rinko, for the majority of his project. Whatever Kayaba and Koujiro had in store would be revealed to the world in under 60 seconds. The final countdown to the official launch of Sword Art Online had begun.

Kirito ran his hands over the smooth metal of the NerveGear. He powered the system on and his room was soon filled with a soft hum. The LEDs on the side of the helmet slowly changed from red to green, indicating that it was warming up. When the system had finished its start up process, Kirito placed it on his head and proceeded to lie down. He took one last glance at the room around him, anxious to escape from it. A feeling of excitement and slight nervousness welled up inside of him. There was only 5 seconds remaining until 10,000 people would be unleashed into the world of Sword Art Online. The clock finally changed and a small grin tugged at Kirito's lips as he uttered the command that would change his life forever.

"Link Start!"

**A/N: And so, the rewrite has officially been started! I think that was a lot better than the original first chapter. I chose to give some more background information instead of just jumping right into the game. Hopefully I did a better job actually describing what was going on. I feel like I just said what was happening without really describing the events in full detail when I wrote the original. I wanted to pump out chapters as fast as possible so I neglected detail and it hurt the story. Hopefully I won't make that mistake in this version.**

**Also, big thanks to all of you who have already favorited/followed/reviewed this story. I'm glad a lot of you have decided to stick with me through the rewrite! It brightens my mood to know that you guys are still standing behind me :D Look out for Chapter 2 within the next couple of days! **


	3. Ch 2 & Story Abandoned Note

**A/N: At this point, the story has been abandoned, but not forgotten. I've seen the reviews and I have to say I'm disappointed with myself. When I started the story, I had a real passion for writing and the creativity that came with it. Then one day, I just lost it. I haven't felt like doing anything with the story or the concept, so I just left it. Who knows, maybe one day I'll pick it back up and continue, but not anytime soon. I was PMd by a reader who was interested in using the concept for their story, and I was more than happy to pass the torch to someone else. Be on the lookout for their story soon. **

**Until next time,**

**TwinBladeSwordsman**

**Chapter 2**

Kirito was overcome with ecstasy as he felt himself being drawn from the real world and absorbed into the virtual world. Once again, everything around him was being replaced by the environment created by the NerveGear. He was placed inside of a black room, extremely similar to the one he remembered being placed in during his first FullDive. The NerveGear had stored his settings, so he was placed inside of the "Midnight" themed room instead of the default one. Kirito had no trouble controlling his virtual body this time around, even though it had been months since he had been inside of the game. His natural instincts took over and he was moving fluidly within a few minutes. Feeling he had wasted enough time getting back into the game, he quickly approached the sleek black terminal in the middle of the room. A display opened up in front of him as he pressed his finger to the terminal.

_Username: Kirito_

_Password: ************_

He pressed enter, and the login in screen was replaced by another message.

"_Welcome back, Kirito! Would you like to continue using your Beta Avatar? You can edit your Beta Avatar further if you would like."_

A 3D image of his beta avatar appeared under the message. He was already pleased with the Avatar he had originally created, so he selected "Recover Avatar" on the menu, choosing to skip the Avatar creation and editing steps.

_"You have chosen to keep your original Avatar. We hope you enjoy your time inside of Sword Art Online. Please prepare for materialization."_

The window faded after a few seconds and the black room soon followed. The magnificent buildings and structures of _Starting City_ began to construct themselves around him. Slowly, the beautiful town began to take shape and it was almost too much for Kirito to handle. He fought the smile threatening to burst out onto his face, and managed to suppress it to a grin. Everything was exactly as he had remembered it. The NPCs were just as lively as they were in the beta. They carried out intelligent conversation with each other and acted exactly as humans would. Aside from the NPCs, Kirito was basically alone in the unbelievable world. Most of the players would choose to play through the tutorial program on the NerveGear, and those who were familiar with the NerveGear were probably editing their Avatars or reacquainting themselves with the system. Without any other players to interact with, he decided it would be a good time to start leveling. After all, he had a huge advantage over at least 9,000 of the players, might as well use it. He began walking quickly through the town. Even though he was anxious to begin fighting, he still wanted to take in all of the sights he could on the way there. NPCs were running various businesses in the more populated area of _Starting City_. There were restaurants, inns, general stores, and even a blacksmith shop close to the initial spawn point. The chatter of the NPCs was similar to what you would hear in a large city in the real world. Everyone was talking, but you couldn't really understand what they were saying. It all just blended together and made the city feel...real. The clatter of dishes in restaurants, the bells chiming in shop doors, and the metallic ting of a hammer striking hot metal inside of a blacksmith shop all combined to form the perfect harmony. The city didn't just feel real, it felt alive.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, Kirito reached the edge of the town. The fields that led into a deep forest were populated with Frenzy Boars. The Level 1 creatures were almost always used for training at the beginning of one's SAO career. They were relatively easy to kill and did low amounts of damage. Even a beginning player, well, one that is familiar with the NerveGear at least, could kill them fairly quickly. Fortunately, Kirito wasn't a beginner. He was undoubtedly one of the most skilled players from the Beta, which would make killing the animals even easier. After equipping his Iron Sword that every player begins with, he took to slaughtering the Frenzy Boars. Combat in Sword Art Online was fairly simple, but it had the potential to become extremely complicated. Programmed into the game were abilities known as Sword Skills. These abilities granted players the power to perform spectacular moves and combos in combat to deal massive amounts of damage. Kirito, being the expert that he was, could kill multiple targets with one attack if his stats were high enough. He charged towards his first enemy, gripping his sword tightly and moving it into an attacking position. When the Frenzy Boar was within striking distance, he reared his sword back, and waited for it to glow. When a weapon begins to illuminate, it means that a Sword Skill has been triggered. From that point, the player needs only to start the motion, and the Automatic Assist system programmed into the game would take over. Once his weapon was radiating with a powerful aura, Kirito brought his sword downwards, and the system did the rest. His fully charged Slash attack nearly wiped out the creature's health. Kirito quickly finished it off on his own, not bothering to use another Sword Skill.

In order to counteract the raw power a Sword Skill could unleash, the game had been designed to force players into a "cooldown mode". While they were in this mode, they could not move or defend themselves from incoming attacks. Basic skills, such as the Slash Kirito had just used, had a very short cooldown time, lasting only for a few seconds. As the potential damage of an attack increased, so did the length of the cooldown. This was what could make the combat complicated. During a battle with a tough boss or even another player, using Sword Skills was essential to dealing a decent amount of damage. On the downside, if the enemy recovered before the cooldown was completed; the attacking player was left completely vulnerable. A balance was required to be successful in battle, and achieving that balance was extremely difficult.

Kirito continued to exterminate the weak Frenzy Boars for quite a while. As with any Multiplayer Game, gaining levels required quite a grind. This was especially true for Sword Art Online. In most MMOs, you could begin training a skill and reach Level 10 within an hour. Requiring players to grind for extreme amounts of time just to reach Level 2 made the game boring and turned most players away from it. However, Sword Art Online was meant to simulate a real life in a fantasy world. This meant getting stronger and better required hours of work, not minutes. The virtual reality aspect of the game kept players interested, but grinding was never fun. An experienced player such as Kirito could reach an overall Level of 2 within an hour, while advancing basic combat skills (Such as the One Handed skill that Kirito used) by 3 or 4 levels. Because of the immense amount of grinding needed to advance levels, it took players months to reach the Level necessary to take down the boss of the first floor. It would no doubt be quicker this time due to the fact that there was 10 times the amount of players that were in the Beta and 1,000 them knew good training spots that could be passed on to new players. However, it would still take most people up to 4 hours to reach Level 2 while training on Frenzy Boars. His familiarity of the combat system and training locations was an advantage that Kirito intended to exploit to its fullest potential.

Enemy after enemy fell to Kirito's blade, quickly respawning only to be slain again. The fast respawn rate of Frenzy Boars allowed Kirito to fight almost non-stop, greatly increasing the amount of EXP he could gain. After just over an hour, Kirito hit Level 2. Satisfied with his progress, he decided that it would be a good time to head back into the city. The town would most likely be buzzing with new players, and almost all 10,000 of them should be logged in. He collected the last of the Boar Meat he obtained from each kill, and stored it away in his inventory. While Boar Meat wasn't exactly a great drop, it still provided for a decent amount of col, Sword Art Online's currency. The amount of col an item was worth in the shop was determined by a complicated algorithm that depended on the supply and demand of the object. During the first few days, Boar Meat sold for around 3 col a piece. In his hour of training, Kirito had killed just over 300 boars, leaving him around 900 col. It was a good start for sure, as that would pay for a good room at an inn, a good meal, and possibly some basic armor. He made his way deeper into town towards the restaurants and began to sell the Boar Meat to various chefs. Each one thanked him for the trade, and told him to come back if he had anything else to sell. Pleased with his progress, he decided to head into the center of town. He assumed that the _Game Masters_, the people in charge of assisting players with bugs and glitches and also punishing the players who play unfairly, would be making an appearance to celebrate the launch of the game. Suddenly, a loud siren echoed through the city, accompanied by a flashing red message in the sky.

**_Announcement: All players will be teleported to the Spawn Area in 10 seconds._**

**_10…9…8…7…_**

Kirito watched as the number in the sky descended towards 0. When the countdown ended, he was surrounded by a bright blue light. He felt as though he was being sucked into a black hole as the shops he had just left disappeared and he was transported to the middle of _Starting City_. The feeling was unpleasant to say the least, and by looking around, he could tell that the other players felt the same way. All signs of anger at the disruption were eliminated from the players' faces when a large being began to form in the sky. Draped in a cloak and hidden under a hood, no one could see whatever was underneath the clothing, but it wasn't hard to guess that it was a _Game Master. _A loud voice boomed over the players.

"Hello, everyone! Welcome to my glorious world. My name is Kayaba Akihiko!" The announcement was met with loud gasps and stunned looks. Kayaba Akihiko was actually inside of the game with them! "I must thank you all for choosing to join me in my world. I have said for months that I have big things planned for the world, and now it is time for me to fill you in. This world is now your home. You will remain here until this game has been beaten. That means you will be unable to logout of the game until all 100 floors have been cleared, and all 100 floor bosses have been defeated." The crowd was silent. What was he saying? They couldn't logout? They couldn't leave? That was just ridiculous. "Go ahead, search your menu for the option to logout of the game. I assure you that you won't find it." Kirito opened his menu. He knew that it was unlike Kayaba to joke about something like this. All of the research that he had done on the man had indicated that he took his work very seriously. His heart smashed against his chest, feeling like it was going to explode at any minute. He searched and searched, but Kayaba hadn't lied. The option to logout wasn't just grayed out and unavailable, it didn't exist. Other players came to this realization as well, and shared Kirito's expression of shock and horror. "Do not fool yourself into believing that the option to logout will become available before the task I have assigned you has been completed. The only way to leave is to win. Also, I have said this before, but this isn't just a game, it's an alternate life. With life, comes death. In the real world, death is permanent. In this world, death is permanent. Should you die for any reason, you will not respawn. You and your Avatar are connected, in fact, you ARE your Avatar. Which reminds me, please open your inventory and use the "Hand Mirror" object. Failure to do so will result in immediate termination from the game." All 10,000 players opened their inventory and used the object they had been given. As soon as the item was used, their avatar was transformed. The carefully designed Avatars were shattered and what remained was an exact replica of the players' real bodies. Kirito had transformed from his older looking badass Avatar, to the skinny teenager that he truly was. "With that final step complete, you are all officially immersed into Sword Art Online. As I was saying, you are your avatar, so when your Avatar dies, you die as well. When your HP hits zero, the NerveGear will send a powerful electromagnetic pulse directly into your brain, causing it to cease all functions. This of course, effectively terminates your life from both worlds." The players were still too horrified to move or speak. Some of them had begun to silently cry while others had become sick to their stomachs. "Of course, you don't have to leave the safe zones; in fact, you're never going to be required to put yourself in danger. Instead, you'll just have to live here until your real body dies of old age. Unfortunately, any attempt to remove the NerveGear from your body will result in immediate termination of your life. A warning was sent out to all news stations across Japan just after the servers were activated, so your friends and families are aware of the situation. Should they ignore the warnings, you will die. Some people have already had their NerveGear removed, and as promised, they have been eliminated. Just over 9,900 of you are still here, so let's hope that number stays high. Once again, thank you for participating in Sword Art Online. This is your new life, so make the most of it. Goodbye."

With his message complete, the figure disappeared. Kirito stood there motionless, trying to process all of the information. He was trapped and there was no way out. He was pulled out of his daze as the first of many screams pierced through the silence that had surrounded him.


End file.
